Snow removal machine



May 4, 1943 E.'T. STEWART 2,318,127V

SNOW REMOVAL MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet l May 4, 1943.E. T.v STEWART SNOW REMOVAL MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1942 4 SheetS-Sheet 2May 4, 1943. E. T'. STEWART SNOW"`REMQQL MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 3 May 4, 1943. E, T. STEWART 2,318,127

sNow REMOVAL MACHINE Filed Jan. 19, 1942 4 sheets-sheet 4 vtween thetracks.

Patented May 4, 1943 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,318,127 l sNoWREMOVAL MACHINE Edward T. stewart, st. Paul, Minn. Application January19, 1942, Serial No. 427,274

4 Claims.

This invention relates to snow removal apparatus.

It is a general object of my invention to provide snow removal apparatuswhich is adapted tc be mounted upon a vehicle and which is so arrangedthat it can not only be shifted vertically relative to the vehicle butcan aiso be moved horizontally so that snow be picked up lateraliy ofthe path taken by the vehicle. While such a device could be mounted upona tractor or ruck it is of particular advantage on railway equipment andmore specincally it has considerable advantage in railway yards where aplurality of tracks lie beside each other and considerable difculty hasbeen found in clearing the spacesv oe- This is generally done by handand requires considerable time and labor.

Another object oi the invention is to provide snow removal apparatusmounted upon a vehicle wherein the apparatus includes power operatedsnow pickup and disposal means with the power source mounted upon thecarrying vehicle and with connections between the power source Aand thesnow removal unit which permit power operation of the snow removal unitin various adjusted positions relative to the carrying Vehicle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a vehicle supportedlaterally movable snow plow unit which has combined therewith means forcounterbalancing the plow unit when it is laterally shifted.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to thesame parts throughout the views, and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one end of a rail- Way car with myinvention mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a section taken approximately on the line 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section taken approximately on the line ll-li ofFig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken approximately on the line 5-5 ofFig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail of one of the drive connections;

Fig. '7 is a front elevation; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged horizontal section through the Ysnow removalapparatus per se.

In Fig. l there is shown a railway flat car indicated generally at 9. Ofcourse, any other suitable type of vehicle could be used. vertically Aonthe right-hand or forward 'en-d of Mounted 'of the machine thevrear'endsof Vcylinder and Y angle irons lil as best illus# trated in Fig. 2'. Theangle irons lll are braced by strengthening members H which extend up*-wardly and rearwardly from'the lower portions of the pair of angle ironsl il to suitable points on the car 9 as shown in Fig. 1. A yoke i2having angled vertical side members 12a is rigidly secured to the pairof vertical angle irons it] and said yoke has an upstanding centralportion i3 with elongated apertures l!! formed there# through. Thevertical portions 62a of the 'yoke l2 are connected to an upper pair ofhorizontally disposed guide members i5. A lower pair 'of similar guidemembers i6 is provided, vit 'also being connected to the yoke i 2. Theends of the pairs of guide members I5 and iii are connected by posts ilato provide a rigid structure. Slidable between the pairs of 'guideinenib l5 and IB are slide bars Il and iii respecti'v Extendingforwardly from the slide bar` il i5 -a pair of horizontally disposedarms i9 which are connectedyto vertical posts 2c and a pair of horil thecar 9 is a pair of vzontal arms 2l extends from the lower slidebar i8,said arms 2l being connectedwitl. the lower ends of the vertical posts2' The' upper ends 'of the posts 2d are connected by a cross member 22.The lower ends of the vertical 'posts are connected by a cross bar 23.The ends of the cross bars 22 and 23 are shown in dotted lines Fig-"1.The slide bars Il and i9; the pairs of forwardly extending arms I9 and2i, the vertical posts 2li and their connecting bars Z2 and E3 form aframe unit which is laterally slidable relative to vthe yoke i2.

Theplo'w unit is indicated generally at P. :Exe tending rearwardly fromthe plow unit P are pairs of horizontal arms 2li, 25 and 26. At 4eitherside Y the armsv are connected by vertical posts 2l. The right-hand-post 2l has a rearward extension 23 which supports al hydraulic motor29. Extending between the vertical posts 2l' are shafts 3f), 3l, S2 and33. Y Also extending rearwardly from the plow Pare apertured lugs 34which s lidably receive the vertical members 2B which are connected tothe arms i 9 and 2l extending forwardly frcinthe slide bars l 'i and I8.Thus the plow unit P Vcan be shifted vertically relative to forwardlyextending arms I9 and 2| and vertical members 26, and the plow unit canbe shifted laterally offsaidf members i9, 2B and 2l. Vertical movementof the plow 'unit andthe rearwardly extending arms EL?. 25 and i216 iseifected by means of hydraulically oper-ated 'piston units 3e whichhave' suitable hydraulic lines 36 connected Vtti-'the 4unit to actu` atethe same vertically. The cylinder and piston unit rests upon a cross arm31 which extends between the upper arms 24 extending rearwardly from theplow unit and the piston rod 38 is shown in Fig. 1 to connect with thecross member 22 which extends between the upper ends of the verticalposts 28 on the laterally shiftable frame.

Lateral movement of the plow unit P and its supporting frames iseffected by means of the hydraulic motor 29 and a threaded shaft 39 asshown in Figs. 1 and 3. Shaft 39 extends rbetween the rearwardextensions 28 of the vertical members 21 which are connected at eitherside of the machine to the horizontal rearwardly extending members 24,25 and 26. A lug 40 threadedly receives the screw 39 and said lug isheld against lateral movement by means of guide members 4I secured to aplate 42, as best indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. The plate 42 is rigidlysecured to two of the adjacent cross members I5 and I6 which u formportions of the guides for the slide bars I1 and I8. When the hydraulicmotor 29 is actuated the screw 39 will be rotated and due to itsinterconnection with the lug 48 the entire plow assembly will be shiftedlaterally relative to the car 9. When the plow assembly is movedvertically under the influence of the hydraulic cylinder and pistonassembly the lug 40 will slide vertically between the guides 46 providedtherefor.

To brace the snow plow assembly I provide brace arms 43 and 44 at eitherside of the car 9. The forward ends of said brace bars 43 and 44 areconnected respectively to the laterally movable slide bars I1 and I8.The forward ends of said braces 43 and 44 are provided with yokes 45 and46 which are pivotally connected to rods 41 which extend to the slidebars I1 and I8 a considerable distance, as shown in Fig. 3, and saidrods 41 are adapted to slide into said slide bars I1 and I8. The rearends of the braces 43 and 44 are connected to a link 48 which in turn ispivotally connected at its center to a piston rod 49 working in ahydraulic cylinder 58. There is a cylinder and piston assembly 49, 50 ateach side of the car and, as indicated in Fig. 2, the cylinders 58areconnected by a line 5I and are connected to a suitable pressurecontrol device (not shown) to permit either set of braces 43, 44 togive. of course, be seen that the snow plow assembly is centeredrelative to the car 9. If the screw 39 is actuated to shift the entireassembly to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, the left-hand braces 43 and44 will strike against the stationary frame with its vertical endmembers I1a, and as the assembly moves to the right the left-hand rods41 at the ends of the braces 43 and 44 will have a relative slidingmovement outwardly from the left-hand ends of the slide bars I1 and I8.The right-hand braces 43 and 44 will move to the right at their forwardends with the laterally movable portion of the assembly, and thehydraulic cylinder and piston assembly 49, 50 will provide theadditional length required since said right-hand brace b-ars 43, 44 willthen form a hypotenuse of atriangle. Springs 52 are connected betweenthe braces 43 and 44 and suitable portions of the relatively stationaryframe such as bolts 53 which clamp the vertical angle irons I0 to theforward portion of the car 9. These springs 52 yieldingly urge thebraces 43 and 44 inwardly so that they will naturally assume thepositions shown in Fig. 2 when the plow assembly is centered relative tothe car 9. On the forand out of Referring to Fig. 2 it will,

ward end of the car 9 I provide a counterweight 54 which has anupstanding lug or ear 55 having a threaded aperture therethrough toreceive a screw 56. The counterweight 54 lies in and is guided by atrackway 51 which allows lateral movement of the counterweight 54 uponrotation of the screw 56 by a hydraulic motor 58 which is geared to thescrew 56 by a chain drive 59. The uid motor 29 which actuates the screw39 to shift the plow assembly laterally is provided with a fluid conduit60 which is also connected with the uid motor 58 which actuates thecounterweight screw 56 and the two fluid motors 29 and 58 are connectedin such a manner that as the plow assembly shifts to the right thecounterweight 54 will shift to the left, thus to a certain extentrelieving strains due to lack of balance.

'I 'he snow plow per se indicated generally at P may conveniently be aplow such as disclosed in my prior United States Patent Number 2,075,-673, issued March 30, 1937. In general the plow includes a casing 6Ihaving a plurality of screws 62 rotatably mounted therein to break upthe snow and feed it toward the center portion of the casing 6I. Thesnow is forced inwardly and rearwardly and it passes through an opening63 to a chamber 64 housing a fan 65. The fan discharges the snow througha lateral outlet 66. In Fig. 2 the outlet is shown at the left of themachine, but snow can be discharged to the right by swinging the pivoteddeector 61 to the left so that an outlet opening would then be exposedat the right-hand side of the fan casing 64. It is, of course, necessaryto reverse the rotation of the fan 65 when the pivoted deector 61 isreversed in position.

A suitable source of power such as an internal combustion engine 68 ismounted upon the car 9. A telescopic drive connection 69, 10 connectsthe engine 68 to the cross shaft 3| by means of a bevel gear unit 1I.The shaft 3| is connected to a lower cross shaft 33 by means of a chaindrive 12 and said cross shaft 33 is connected by a chain 13 to a shaft14 which, as best shown in Fig. '1, carries the lower of the twohorizontal snow conveying screws 63. A chain 15 connects the lowerhorizontal screw shaft 14 to the upper horizontal screw shaft 16. Theshaft 16 on its inner end carries a pinion gear 11 which meshes with aring gear 18 which is mounted upon a shaft 19 suitably journalled in thecentral nose or casing 89. It will be seen in Fig. 8 that; the ring gear18 has a pair of toothed circular faces. The pinion 11 engages one setof teeth and another pinion BI engages the same teeth. Pinion 8| is on ashaft 82 which forms the other half of the shaft for the upperhorizontal snow conveying screw 62. Without-I going into detail it canbe seen that the other screw shafts are suitably geared to the secondset of teeth on the other face of the ring gear 18.

VA second engine'83 is mounted 0n the car 9 beside the above describedengine 68 and it is connected by telescopicdrive shaft 84, 85 to a bevelgear assembly 86 to drive the upper cross shaft 36. This shaft isconnected by a chain drive 81 to the cross shaft 32 and, as best shown1n Fig. 8, the cross shaft 32 carries a bevel gear 8 which meshes withthe bevel gear 89 on the shaft 90 which carries the snow blower or fan65.

In Fig. 6 there is shown a detail of the con- I nection between thetelescoping drive shaft portion 85 and the upper cross shaft 30 throughthe bevel gear unit 86. This gear connection is held in position by ayoke 9| which, as shown, pivotally receives the forward end of the driveshaft 85 and which has arms which rotatably connect with the upper crossshaft 30. The cross shaft 30 is arranged for sliding movement throughthe bearing tube S2. The arrangement on the drive shaft l0 which isconnected to the engine 68 is essentially the same as in l'l'ig. 6.

Due to the fact that the drive shafts 'H3 and 85 move vertically withthe vertically movable plow assembly the upper extension I3 on the yokei3 is provided with vertical slots I3 so that the shafts 10 and 85 arebraced to some extent by said upward extension I3 but are permitted tomove vertically relative thereto.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided snowremoval apparatus which can be mounted on a railway fiat car in such away that not only its vertical position can be adjusted but it may alsobe shifted laterally relative to the car upon which it is mounted. Thedevice is provided with a counterbalance to oiset the laterally shiftedweight of the plow unit and the drive connections for the snow conveyingand blowing apparatus are so arranged that they will function in any ofthe adjusted positions to which the plow is shifted. It is a devicewhich is effective in removing snow in railway yards where hitherto ithas been necessary to clean away the snow from between the tracks byhand. While it is primarily designed for railway use it should, ofcourse, be understood that it can be effectively used on trucks ortractors for cleaning the shoulders of highways while keeping thecarrying vehicle on the pavement.

I have shown my invention in connection with a rotary snow plow such asdisclosed in the above identified patent issued to me but, of course, itis not necessary that this specific type of rotary plow be used inconjunction with the plow shifting mechanism disclosed herein.

It further will be understood that various changes may be made in theform, details, ar-

rangement and proportions of the various parts without departing fromthe scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

l. Snow removing apparatus including, a relatively stationary support, arelatively movable frame, a snow plow unit on said relatively movableframe, a connection between said relatively stationary support and saidrelatively movable frame permitting said relatively movable frame andplow unit to move laterally relative to said stationary support, andcounterbalancing means on said support movable laterally and oppositelyto said movable frame and plow unit when said frame and plow unit aremoved to OIT-center positions. l

2. The structure in claim 1 and said counterbalancing means and saidmovable frame and plow unit being synchronously power actuated.

3. Snow removing apparatus including, an ambulent support, a plow unitconnected to said support for lateral movement relative thereto, bracemembers extending from said ambulent support to said laterally movableplow unit and means for compensating for the differences in distancebetween the points of connection of said brace members on said ambulentsupport and said plow unit in various laterally disposed positions ofsaid plow unit.

4. Snow removing apparatus including, a relatively stationary support, arelatively movable frame, a snow plow unit on said relatively movableframe, a connection between said relatively stationary support and saidrelatively movable frame permitting said relatively movable frame andplow unit to move laterally in a straight line relative to saidstationary support, and counterbalancing means on said support movablelaterally and oppositely to said movable frame and plow unit when saidframe and plow unit are moved to oli-center positions.

EDWARD T. STEVVAR'I,l

